The Smirk That Broke Her

rip permission slip. Raising Lily alone on a waitress' s pay meant every dollar had a job. Her daughter was a good kid, nine years old

r small kitchen

om, Lily?" Sarah asked,

ed, "Mike

ou pay

hake of

y, it couldn' t have cost more than a few

gs that aren' t ours,

ily' s eyes. "I

ment, Sarah knew. A hard one, but important. She took a fifty-dollar b

ologize, and give him this money for the trouble you caused. And then

dded, s

is, sweetie. Not to shame you, but so one day you can

onsibility, a small video she could sh

l Store" jingled. Mike, a burly man with

d the fifty-dollar bill,

an, phone angled to capture Lily.

apology, before she could offer

echoed in the

Lily across t

ck, her hand flying to her m

"Little thie

"What are you doing? We came t

face red. "You people are al

back, her expression as hard as her h

her one. This

her. I' ve seen her lurking. She' s the one, Mike. She' s the one who'

s? No, this is the first time

lar toy today. What about the nine hundred dollars in

glinting in the corner. "We got new cameras. You only ca